The Best Point Of Sale Systems for 2021
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Learn More About Our Top Picks
| Company | Best For | Next StepsBest For |
|---|---|---|
Lightspeed POS
 | Best Overall POS and Industry Leader (Supports Retail and Restaurant) | Best Overall POS and Industry Leader (Supports Retail and Restaurant)
|
Revel POS
 | Most Advanced Reporting (Supports Retail and Restaurant) | Most Advanced Reporting (Supports Retail and Restaurant)
|
Clover POS
 | Best App Marketplace for Add-Ons (Supports Retail and Restaurant) | Best App Marketplace for Add-Ons (Supports Retail and Restaurant)
|
Toast POS
 | Best Restaurant-Specific POS System (Supports Restaurant/Foodservice Only) | Best Restaurant-Specific POS System (Supports Restaurant/Foodservice Only)
|
Square POS
 | Best Free POS With Room For Upgrades (Supports Retail and Quick Serve) | Best Free POS With Room For Upgrades (Supports Retail and Quick Serve)
|
Read more below to learn why we chose these options.
1. Lightspeed POS
Lightspeed POS
|
|---|
Best Overall POS and Industry Leader (Supports Retail and Restaurant)
Highlights
- Premium-class product
- Excellent register functionality
- Onboarding help provided
- Robust reporting features
- Strong eCommerce platform
Summary
Lightspeed POS is one of the most robust and easy-to-use solutions in today’s point of sale market. If you’re looking for a system that will likely have every option you could dream up in a POS in both the front and back end and pricing isn’t a major consideration, Lightspeed Retail should be fairly high on your list. I also appreciate the company’s commitment to offering customers the latest in POS advances with its constant updates. With strong customer service and a commitment to making sure that you get up and running quickly and smoothly, Lightspeed takes a lot of stress and guesswork off your plate.
Get Started with Lightspeed POS
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2. Revel Systems POS
Revel POS
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|---|
Most Advanced Reporting (Supports Retail and Restaurant)
Highlights
- High-quality software for both retail and restaurants
- Robust integrations
- Excellent reporting
- Kiosk functionality
- A modern kitchen display system
Summary
Revel boasts one of the most advanced feature sets on the market with a full reporting suite, advanced inventory management, a built-in credit card processor, and nearly any integration you can think of. While geared toward larger businesses with multiple locations, a smaller retailer/restauranteur with a savvy owner may find Revel to be an ideal fit. Given its robust integrations and advanced back end, it’s hard to imagine that any business owner (particularly in the foodservice industry) would find Revel lacking. It thoroughly deserves to be one of our five-star systems.
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3. Clover POS
Clover POS
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|---|
Best App Marketplace for Add-Ons (Supports Retail and Restaurant)
Highlights
- Easy to set up
- Large app store and a wealth of integrations
- Aesthetic appeal
Summary
Clover point of sale is a major player in its industry for a number of good reasons. The system is incredibly intuitive and a breeze to set up and learn. Clover also offers a variety of software and hardware options for any type of business and gives you the ability to upgrade if your business expands. When supplemented with apps from Clover’s App Marketplace, the Clover POS system becomes a powerful tool. The system enables you to manage employees and customers, track inventory, create and view reports, and monitor your revenue stream. Most of these apps are free or can be purchased for a small fee.
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4. Toast POS
Toast POS
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|---|
Best Restaurant-Specific POS System (Supports Restaurant/Foodservice Only)
Highlights
- All-in-one POS
- Android-based
- Advanced reporting tools
- Advanced employee management
- eCommerce integration
Summary
Whether your restaurant is focusing more on in-person dining or takeout options, Toast POS comes with a fantastic array of built-in features to serve customers. Toast also acts as the client’s payment processor, and unlike many of its iOS-based competitors in the POS world, it runs on Android operating systems, making the tablets it runs on cheaper and more versatile. If you’re interested in many of the add-ons that Toast offers, the cost can start to creep up, but, at the same time, it’s nice to have those options as well as the score of third-party software integrations Toast offers. Toast Go, a mobile POS device created specifically for its platform, also makes Toast an appealing option for restaurants that want to implement tableside ordering.
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5. Square POS
Square POS
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|---|
Best Free POS With Room For Upgrades (Supports Retail and Quick Serve)
Highlights
- Quick setup
- Simple processing fees
- Intuitive interface
- Loads of integrations
Summary
Square is defined by elegant simplicity, with set processing rates that are both affordable and easy to comprehend. Couple that with a sleek and fully customizable interface, and it’s difficult to go wrong if you have a small business with a limited number of users.
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A Summary Of Your Best Options
- Lightspeed POS: Best Overall POS and Industry Leader (Supports Retail and Restaurant)
- Revel POS: Most Advanced Reporting (Supports Retail and Restaurant)
- Clover POS: Best App Marketplace for Add-Ons (Supports Retail and Restaurant)
- Toast POS: Best Restaurant-Specific POS System (Supports Restaurant/Foodservice Only)
- Square POS: Best Free POS With Room For Upgrades (Supports Retail and Quick Serve)
Matt Sherman
Point of sale writer at Merchant Maverick
Matt Sherman has been immersed in point of sale systems for over a year now. Previously, he spent 14 years in the newspaper industry, the majority of which was as the sports editor for a pair of weekly newspapers in suburban Portland, Oregon. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon where he majored in English because he knows where the money is. Matt is the father to a pair of energetic boys and can easily be distracted by Netflix, Amazon and HBO Go.
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